Remembering Cory Aquino

Corazon Aquino passed away on Aug. 1, 2009 at 3:18 in the morning. The cause of death was advanced colon cancer and she had been hospitalized for more than a month. Her son, Benigno Aquino III, in an official family statement, said then that the cancer had spread and she was too weak to continue therapy. She was 76.

The messages of grief and love came from people of all walks of life and from all over the world. Her security escort of 20 years, Melchor Mamaril, gave a very touching eulogy. “I feel a sense of wonder and at the same time, I realized that her treatment raised my dignity as a person. She gave me self-respect, self-worth and self-confidence. And even when she lay dying in bed, she was always concerned about us. She would always ask if we had eaten already. One could always see her compassionate heart for all those in need.”

US President Barack Obama said he was deeply saddened by her death: “She played a crucial role in Philippine history, moving the country to democratic rule through a non-violent People Power Movement…  Her courage, determination and moral leadership are an inspiration to us and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation.”

The year 2009 also commemorated the 30th year of the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino, whose funeral procession from Sto. Domingo Church to Manila Memorial Park brought millions of people out to the streets of Metro Manila. This was the beginning of People Power, the start of many demonstrations in the face of intimidation and harassment by the police and military forces of the Marcos dictatorship.

This was also the beginning of the ascent of Cory as the inspiration and the leader of the movement for the restoration of democracy and freedom to this country.

There have been many stories written about her since that time until after her death. But one story, seldom told but worth recalling, is the first interview with Cory by a local journalist after her husband’s assassination.

At that time, the media was totally controlled by the dictatorship. The independent press could best be described as a “mosquito” press and was published “underground.” Its publishers and writers were constantly being arrested or harassed.

Then a personality magazine, Mr.&Ms., decided to publish a Special Edition series, beginning with the assassination of Ninoy and a full-length article on Cory. The local journalist whom the publisher Eggie Apostol chose for that historic first interview was my wife, Neni Sta. Romana Cruz. Here, in her own words, is the story of that first interview:

I was in the company of Mr.&Ms. publisher Eggie Apostol, who had arranged an exclusive interview that she wanted me to do for the Mr.&Ms. Special Edition which was launched immediately after the Aquino assassination. She picked me up and we proceeded to the Aquino residence on Times Street. It was so soon after Ninoy was buried because the nine-day masses at Sto. Domingo Church were still going on. All the major broadsheets … were scared to give Ninoy Aquino and his family any publicity lest they displease those in power.

But Eggie was eager to outscoop everyone and to promote truth and justice by letting the public know what lay beneath the staid and inaccurate news coverage of the national dailies and the broadcasting stations.

The interview was in the living room. She was in black, looked tired and drawn, but was restrained and calm. I was struck by her humility and more so by her recognition of my maiden name, pointing out that my mother’s family, the Luceros, are related to the Cojuangcos, something I vaguely knew through my elders who knew her family and used to mention it. It seemed almost ridiculous that a prominent member of the clan should be the one pointing out the kinship with a lesser known member of the family tree.

She made me feel so at ease and I seemed to be mourning more than she was. I kept thinking, how can this frail woman endure it all? She was easy to interview because she wanted her story to be heard.”

In one part of the article, Neni wrote: “People who were heartbroken at the sight of the once fiery and flamboyant Ninoy in his bloodied white bush jacket feared that his appearance may inflict more unnecessary sorrow on his family. Cory saw nothing of what many thought was unpretty. She said, ‘He looked much better than I expected. I guess when you love someone you only see the beautiful.’

On that August day in 1983, did Cory sense what her future would be?

Here was what Neni wrote: “There are many things Cory looks forward to – from the mundane task of unpacking (she cannot even quite recall, is it a week or two weeks that they have been home?), of even having the luxury of time to cry, sort things out (a necessity, she has told Kris), to the momentous ones of compiling her husband’s writings into a book and working closely with a biographer for Ninoy’s story.”

But she was destined to be more than just an editor and writer. Unknown to her, the Cory legend had begun. She would be the subject of countless stories and articles. Her destiny would one day make her the icon of People Power and democracy in the Philippines and throughout the world.

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